Dean Highland Neighborhood Association

Tag: Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative

  • Our DHNA Conservancy Initiative recap from Oct. 24th

    Well Dean Highlanders, I was a bit discouraged on Saturday morning when nobody showed up to the triangle for our bimonthly service project. Is it really that boring?

    I hung out at the beautiful benches that the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association had secured for the historic trolley stop a few years ago. I texted my favorite uncle to pass the time. I waited around, but only for about 15-20 minutes. Then, I just left some supplies out (donated to us by our partners at Keep Waco Beautiful) and hoped for the best:

    I was not disappointed! Dean Highlanders came through! When I cruised back over to the triangle earlier today, there was a big, black, beautiful bag of trash for me to collect and place at our usual dropping off site at Mitchell Park:

    So, to whoever showed up and helped clean the neighborhood and pave the way for Hillcrest Park: thank you! You restored my hope in doing things the hard way. Our next conservancy initiative service project will be on November 14th (a Saturday). I’ll wait around for more than 15-20 minutes next time! I’m thinking we hit the alleyway between Windsor and Live Oak from 30th to 26th, but I’m open to suggestions…

  • This Saturday’s (Oct. 24) Conservancy Initiative cleanup

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Let’s meet up at the historic trolley stop triangle at 10am and then tackle the alleyway between Maple and Trice. Here’s a map:

    Many of you could slay two birds with one stone by snagging some selfies in front of our new State Historical Marker and submitting them to us via email for our “State Historical Marker Challenge“…

    Catch you at 10am tomorrow morning. Bring a neighbor!

  • We’re back in the news!

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Yes, we’re back in the news, but this time it’s only tangentially related to our fight for Hillcrest Park.

    Since early this year there has been a flurry of reports on the plan for the empty lots where Hillcrest hospital once stood. To piggyback off those reports and to build organizational capacity, the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association launched the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative. This initiative is one-of-a-kind in Waco, and while it’s mostly aimed at cleaning alleyways, streets, empty lots, and pocket parks, we have also utilized the conservancy initiative to help clean up trash in the yards of Dean Highland’s single mothers and, just this past Saturday, to help a local Dean Highland celebrity — Ms. Alice, the Christmas lights lady – get her decorations out of storage and prepped for setup.

    The idea was so cool (thanks to Rick, our DHNA Treasurer, for thinking it up) that the Waco Tribune-Herald picked up the story. Read the whole thing here. Here’s a picture of Saturday’s October 10th crew courtesy of the one-and-only Tinker Kramer:

    DHNA’s President, Scott Michael (holding Goofy), led the charge along with Robert, Skip, and Tinker.

    What a great neighborhood!

    Our next neighborhood cleanup will be October 24th (a Saturday). Mark your calendars, and submit a spot in the neighborhood that you think needs some tender lovin’ care.

  • Conservancy Initiative service project (9-26-26) recap

    Hi Dean Highland,

    We had a good turnout this morning, with some Dean Highlanders and some members of Baylor’s Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Society showing up to do the hard things.

    We met at Highland Baptist Church’s Wellness Center parking lot and hit the alleyway in between Maple Ave and the church from 30th Street all the way down to 27th Street:

    We then jumped in our cars and hit up Zion Hill Baptist Church, Wenz Park, and Mitchell Park:

    Check out all the garbage we collected:

    Big shout-out goes to the one and only Dr. Jim SoRelle for bringing lemonade with him. It hit the spot perfectly. Our next conservancy initiative cleanup will be October 10th. If you’ve got an alleyway or yard or street you’d like to nominate for a service project, click here and fill out this form.

  • **Don’t Forget** Vote this Thursday

    Our next Quarterly Meeting is Thursday evening, at 6pm, on the 24th, at Dean Highland Elementary School (3300 Maple Ave., Waco, TX 76707). Here it is on a map:

    We will be voting on where to hold the Annual Holiday Party this year. Your vote matters, so be sure to attend this meeting so that you can have your say.

    The front doors of the school will probably be locked, so you will have to hang a left (if you’re facing the front doors) and follow the building to the black gate, where you will see an entrance to the cafeteria. This is where you will find us!

    As always, if you have any questions, shoot us an email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com.

    AND

    Our Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative will kick off its post-summer festivities with a service project on Saturday, September 26th, beginning at 10am. We will be collaborating again with some upstanding youngsters from Baylor’s Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) Honor Society in the parking lot of Highland Baptist Church’s Wellness Center (2924 Trice Ave, Waco, TX 76707). Here is a map:

    Meet us in the parking lot, where you’ll receive cleaning supplies, and then we will spread out from the parking lot and hit the neighborhood with everything we’ve got. A lot of garbage has accumulated over the summer. Apparently, trash doesn’t care about the heat! This is a great way to meet some neighbors and do a good deed at the same time. Check out some pics from past cleanups.

    ETC.

    Our “Voices from Dean Highland” oral history project is going well. You can read more about our “Voices from Dean Highland” project here. You (yes, you!) and your story are way more interesting and important than you think, and this project is something that your loved ones will appreciate long after you’re gone. Check out some “Voices” spotlights here. Reach out to me (Brandon Christensen) when you’re ready to tell some neighborhood stories!

  • Tomorrow’s Conservancy Initiative service project

    has been cancelled. It’s way too hot to be outside doing good around the neighborhood.

    Be well, Dean Highlanders. Be well.

    To read more about our Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative, go here. To check out all the good times we’ve had serving others, click here.

    Don’t forget about our neighborhood oral history project, either. It’s turning into quite the gift. Tell us your neighborhood stories!

  • The Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative’s August 8th cleanup: A recap

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Y’all missed out on quite the treat at our latest conservancy initiative cleanup. We didn’t find any guns, but we did manage to fill up four big bags of trash, and we were able to connect with some of our Baylor buddies from Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Society.

    Our next conservancy initiative project will be August 29th. Mark your calendars! Here’s some more fun:

    And here is the spot in the neighborhood that we hit:

    You can read more about the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative here. Catch you next time, and don’t forget to bring a friend or, better yet, a neighbor!

  • **Don’t Forget**

    After a well-deserved summer break, the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative is kicking back off this Saturday beginning at 9am.

    We will be meeting at the empty lot along the border of Dean Highland at 26th and Windsor:

    There is plenty of garbage to pick up, so bring that famous attitude of gratitude that Dean Highlanders are known for. We’ll have all the equipment needed to clean up the area, thanks to our friends at Keep Waco Beautiful, so just bring yourself, your family, and maybe even a neighbor.

    The purpose of these bi-monthly gatherings is to serve our neighborhood, fellowship with each other, and let the powers that be in Waco know that our neighborhood is not be trifled with when it comes to Hillcrest Park (i.e. advocacy).

    Some our friends from Baylor’s Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Society (remember them?) will be there this Saturday, too. We are also planning to do a major cleanup with them sometime in September as well.

    These bi-monthly service projects have been a huge boon to the neighborhood’s advocacy efforts so far, and they’ve also led to some pretty cool relationships. Check out some our our past Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative cleanups!

    Remember: this Saturday, August 8th, beginning at 9am. The empty field at 26th and Windsor. You can just park anywhere. You can bike to it. You can walk to it. Bring the dogs. Bring the kids. Let’s kick off the last part of the year with a bang!

    If you have any questions, shoot us an email: deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com.

  • Our Conservancy Initiative recap for Saturday, May 23rd

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Our last neighborhood cleanup before the summer break was a big hit. We didn’t find any guns (this time!), but we did do something different and tackled one of our streets directly instead of relying on the City to maintain the rubbish.

    Ten Dean Highlanders — that’s right, ten – showed up to pitch in this time: Austin from Pine, Tinker from Pine, and the Strietzels from Maple.

    Most of you will know Austin and Tinker thanks to their longtime service as board members of the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association, but the Strietzels are still relatively new so give them all a hearty greeting next time you see them (perhaps at our 6th annual summer meet-and-greet gathering!).

    We hit 27th Street with all we had, and did a good bit of work on it. I know many Dean Highlanders were, and are, grateful for our efforts.

    A conservancy for Dean Highland’s Hillcrest Memorial Park? Run by the neighborhood association? You better believe it, baby!

    Catch you all at Saturday’s (May 30th) sixth annual meet-and-greet gathering in the police station parking lot.

  • Our Conservancy Initiative cleanup (this Saturday, May 23rd) will be…27th Street!

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Our bimonthly Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative cleanup will take place along 27th Street this Saturday (May 23rd). We are going to meet on 27th and Cumberland and then go all the way down and all the way up 27th, like so:

    We will meet at 10am on 27th and Cumberland. Just walk there. Ride your bike. Bring the kids. Bring the dogs. Oh, we will also need a pickup truck since our erstwhile president will not be able to be there this Saturday. This will be our last cleanup before we take the long, hot months of June and July off.

    That’s right, Dean Highlanders, we won’t be doing any guerilla-style conservancy initiative cleanups in June or July due to the heat. So be sure to get on out and join us this Saturday for our last cleanup before the Fall!

    Check out our past cleanup efforts.

    If you have any questions, you know what to do!